Ph.D. Programme in Biology – January 2027  

IISER Pune hosts a diverse group of researchers working in various areas. Research in Biology at IISER Pune currently encompasses both theoretical and experimental approaches. Fields of research open to application in this round of PhD selections are given below, along with names of faculty members working in the respective fields:

Ecology and Evolution: For students interested in ecology and evolution (both theoretical and empirical).

• Deepak Barua
• Ramana Athreya
• Sagar Pandit
• Sutirth Dey

Molecular Biology / Cell Biology / Biochemistry: For students interested in molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, cellular biophysics, developmental biology, microbiology, immunology, epigenetics, chromosome biology, and cancer biology.

• Ashish K Singh
• Mohindar M Karunakaran
• Chaitanya Athale
• Gayathri Pananghat
• Girish Ratnaparkhi
• Jeetender Chugh
• Kundan Sengupta
• Mayurika Lahiri
• Nagaraj Balasubramanian
• Sunish Radhakrishnan
• Richa Rikhy
• Mridula Nambiar
• G. Srivatsan
• Aurnab Ghose
• Chandrashekhar Borkar
• Asif Ali
• Krishanpal Karmodiya

Plant Biology: For students interested in plant biology and plant biotechnology.

• Deepak Barua
• Sagar Pandit

Theoretical and Computational Biology: For students interested in any branch of theoretical biology including theoretical neuroscience, evolution, bioinformatics and computational cell biology.

• Chaitanya Athale
• Pranay Goel
• Suhita Nadkarni
• Chaitanya Athale

Note: only those faculty members whose names are given above will accept students through this round of PhD admissions. Therefore, before applying, students should check this list carefully to ensure that labs of their interest are available for admissions in this round.

Application criteria:
All candidates who fulfil criteria A1 and any one of the criteria mentioned in A2 are eligible to apply. Based on these applications, IISER Pune will create the list of students to be invited for the online interviews.

Eligibility Criteria:

A1. Masters' (or B.E., B.Tech., M.Tech., MBBS) degree holders in any branch of science including physics, chemistry, mathematics, biological sciences, ecology and environmental sciences, biodiversity, psychology or equivalent. Applicants must have a minimum of 60% marks in aggregate (overall percentage and not just in majoring subject) or an equivalent CGPA in the General /OBC/EWS category or minimum 55% marks in aggregate (overall percentage and not just in majoring subject) or an equivalent CGPA in the SC,ST or PwD category.

Students whose final results in Masters or equivalent are yet to be declared can also apply. However, if selected, the offer for these students will be provisional, subject to their fulfilling the above criteria.

A2. Applicants must have any one of the following qualifications.

• Qualified a National Eligibility exam that provides a 5-year Ph.D. fellowship such as CSIR–JRF / UGC–JRF / DBT–JRF–A / ICMR–JRF / DBT–BINC–JRF / Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship / Maulana Azad National Fellowship / National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste Students by CSIR-UGC / National Fellowship for Higher Education of ST Students / National Fellowship for OBC Candidates / National Fellowship for persons with disabilities (NFPWD). The fellowships must be valid on January 01, 2027.
• Qualified JEST* or GPAT or NBHM in the last two years.
• INSPIRE-PhD fellowship (should be in possession of provisional selection letter at the time of Interview).
• IISER BS-MS dual degree students with CGPA ≥ 8.0
• Qualified GATE exams (GATE Life Sciences, GATE Chemistry, GATE Eco-Evo, GATE Biotechnology, GATE Mathematics) in. The GATE score must be valid on January 01, 2027.
• Qualified JGEBILS (IISER Pune will shortlist based on the ranks of the students).
• For all the national eligibility examinations which provide a common rank / score, the cut-off rank / score for shortlisting for the Interviews for the reserved categories shall be lowered to 1.25 times the General category rank / score.

Shortlisting and Interview Process:

Meeting the above-mentioned criteria merely makes the candidate eligible for application. IISER Pune reserves the right to use other / more stringent criteria for the purpose of shortlisting for interviews. Specifically, the scores obtained in the “Research Question” and “Design a study” can be used for the purpose of shortlisting for interviews. Only shortlisted candidates will be informed. Therefore, all candidates are requested to check this page regularly for updates.

Link to Application form: Will be available on 05 October 2026.

One of the questions in the application form requires the applicant to describe a specific research question and design a short study around this question. As these questions are likely to require more time to be completed, we recommend candidates start the application process well in advance of the deadline. Please note that responses will be checked for plagiarism. The application will be rejected if plagiarism is detected.

IISER Pune PhD Program

(Batch starting January 01, 2027)

Applications are invited for admissions to the PhD Programme in Department of Chemistry at IISER Pune in January, 2027. Interested candidates with an excellent academic track record who satisfy the eligibility criteria mentioned below are encouraged to apply.

Minimum Eligibility Criteria:

1A. Minimum 60% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; not only in the majoring subject) or an equivalent C.G.P.A on 10-point scale (55% or an equivalent C.G.P.A in aggregate for SC, ST and Specially abled candidates PwD/VH) in Masters' Degree in any branch of Science: Chemistry/ Physics/ Mathematics/ Biology or equivalent.  Candidates with Integrated BS-MS degree/ B.E./ B. Tech./ B. Pharm./ ME/ M. Tech./ M. Pharm. degree satisfying the above criteria of marks can also apply.

Students whose final results in Master's or equivalent are yet to be declared can also apply. However, if selected, the offer for these students will be provisional, subject to their fulfilling the above criteria at the time of admission.

AND

1B. In addition to the above criteria, the candidate MUST qualify

National Eligibility Test (NET) with VALID CSIR-JRF/UGC-JRF

All shortlisted applicants will be further screened based on the ranks/score for their eligibility set by the Institute/Department committee.

Above scores/ranks/fellowships MUST be valid at least till the date of admission to the PhD program

Selection Procedure:

Based on application forms received and the above listed criteria, applicants will be further shortlisted for the interview based on additional criteria set by the Department. All the candidates selected for the interview will receive a separate email to appear for the in-person interview. Shortlisted candidates will be selected for admission to the PhD programme through a rigorous evaluation process that includes an interview by a selection committee.

The mere application/shortlisting does not guarantee admission into the PhD programme.

Applicants are advised to go through the Departmental Web-pages to explore the research programs of individual faculty.

PhD in Earth and Climate Science

The Department of Earth and Climate Science (ECS), IISER Pune invites applications from highly-motivated students for admissions to Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program for the session January–2027.

Members of ECS are engaged in cutting-edge research across diverse domains of Climate science (climate modelling, monsoon dynamics, tropical convection, glaciers and rivers, …), Geology (weathering and erosion, soil carbon dynamics, climate change studies, isotope geochemistry, paleoclimate,…), and Geophysics (computational geodynamics, theoretical and observational seismology, seismic tomography, geophysical inverse modelling, tectonics, crustal studies and basin modelling, …), employing state-of-the-art lab instruments, theoretical models, and field techniques. We strongly encourage candidates to explore the research, publications, and the faculty webpages for further details and to assess the suitability of their research interests for doctoral study.

Minimum Eligibility:

1. Students with minimum 60% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; not only in majoring subject) or a CGPA 6 out of 10 point scale (55% in aggregate or equivalent CGPA for SC/ST and PD candidates) in Master’s (or BS-MS) degree.

Research theme-wise requirements:

Climate: Physics/Mathematics/Atmospheric Science/Climate Science/Engineering

Geology: Geology/Applied Geology/Biology/Environmental Science

Geophysics: Geophysics/Applied Geophysics/Applied Geology/Physics.

BE/BTech students may also apply. A background in physics and maths at the undergraduate level is required for the Climate and Geophysics domains.

2. Additionally, the candidate MUST have qualified in any ONE of the following exams:

(a) National Eligibility Test (NET) with valid* CSIR-JRF / UGC-JRF/ UGC-LS/ CSIR-LS/ or a valid* GATE/JEST score,

(b) INSPIRE-PhD fellowship (The candidate should be in possession of provisional selection letter at the time of interview),

*The score/rank MUST be valid at least till January 01, 2027.

Or,

 Institute of National importance, IISER BS-MS and MSc students with CGPA >= 8.0.

Selection procedure: Selection will be based on interviews of the short-listed candidates. 

Note:

Only online application will be accepted.

Applying does not automatically guarantee that a candidate will be shortlisted for interview. The department may use additional criteria in order to shortlist candidates for interviews depending on the number of applications received.

For any admission related query please contact ecsphdselection@iiserpune.ac.in

Admissions for session starting January 2027

The Department of Humanities and Social Sciences seeks applications for the PhD programme for session starting January 2027

Only those faculty members whose names are given below will accept students through this round of PhD admissions. Therefore, before applying, applicants should check this carefully to ensure that areas of their interest are available for admissions in this round.

Chaitra Redkar

Modern Indian Political Thought, Political Theory, Gender Discourse in India

Pushkar Sohoni

History of Architecture, History of Art, Archaeology, Material Culture, Epigraphy

Research areas are not restricted to any specific disciplinary background. Applicants are welcome to work across disciplines.

Eligibility Criteria:

1A. The applicant should have a minimum of 60% aggregate marks or CGPA of 6 on of a 10-point scale (55% or equivalent CGPA in aggregate for SC/ST and PD candidates) in their Master’s (MA/MSc/MPhil/BS-MS) Degree, in subjects covering Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences including but not limited to Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, History, Archaeology, Philosophy and allied disciplines and interdisciplinary areas. Applicants from Architecture, Engineering/Technology, and Medicine are eligible after a Bachelor’s degree (minimum four years).

Additionally, the candidate MUST have qualified in any ONE of the following exams with any science or humanities/social sciences subject:

1. National Eligibility Test (NET) with valid* CSIR-JRF / UGC-JRF or equivalent
2. CSIR-UGC NET-LS NET-PhD Eligibility or equivalent (from examination conducted during the year 2025 and 2026)
3. NBHM/GATE with a valid* score.

*The score/rank MUST be valid at least till January 1, 2027

OR

1B. BS-MS/Masters students from any of the Institutes of National Importance with major in one of the subjects mentioned above with a CGPA 8 or above on a10-point scale are exempted from national-level test eligibility criteria

Candidates in the final year of qualifying degree are also eligible to apply. However, their final selection is subject to their successful completion of the qualifying degree with the above-mentioned requirements at the time of admission i.e. on January 1, 2027.

Selection procedure: Based on application form and the above listed criteria, applicants will be shortlisted for an interview. The shortlist will be based on a two-page research plan in addition to the above requirements. Candidates selected for the interview will receive a separate email to appear for the interview at the IISER Pune campus. Selection will be based on interviews of the short-listed candidates.

Note:

Only online applications are accepted. Incomplete applications will be rejected. Applying does not automatically guarantee that a candidate will be shortlisted for interview. The department may use additional criteria in order to shortlist candidates for interviews depending on the number of applications received.

PhD program in Science Education Research at IISER Pune

IISER Pune is the first IISER to start a PhD program in Science (and Mathematics) Education Research!

Research in Science Education at the Department of Science Education at IISER Pune encompasses aspects of curricular design, pedagogy, and cognitive and socio-cultural aspects of learning. This is a muti-disciplinary domain of research that draws from various fields including cognitive sciences, educational psychology, design, anthropology, computer science, philosophy and history of science. We are looking for candidates with research interests in this domain. Selected candidates will join the PhD program in the January 2027 semester.